Department for Transport

Air Pollution: Urban Areas

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve monitoring of the impact of road traffic on air quality in urban areas.

Trudy Harrison: Defra has a comprehensive national monitoring network and, under the Clean Air Strategy, we have committed to investing £6.7m in our 436 monitoring sites across 9 monitoring networks in the UK.

Diesel Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that MOT tests (a) identify and (b) require remediation to defective diesel particulate filters that are less obvious to detect.

Trudy Harrison: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is working with the Department for Transport (DfT) to ensure the current tail pipe emissions test for diesel vehicles, that forms part of the current light vehicle MOT, is fit for purpose.

Taxis: Unfair Dismissal

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to prevent the unfair dismissal of drivers by app-based private hire companies through the suspension or deactivation of those drivers' accounts by those companies.

Trudy Harrison: An individual’s entitlement to rights at work is determined by their employment status, employee, worker or self-employed. Though most private hire vehicle drivers are considered to be self-employed, they can be classed under any of these depending on their employment relationship.Employees are entitled to all rights including being protected against unfair dismissal (subject to qualifying periods) and have responsibilities towards their employer. So called limb (b) workers are entitled to core employment rights but have increased flexibility and self-employed individuals generally have no employment rights but have complete flexibility in their work and are in business for themselves and provide a service to a client. If an individual believes they have been classified in the wrong way they can contact Acas, which deals with questions from employers, individuals, and others about a wide range of employment relations matters.An employer needs to have a valid reason and take appropriate steps if they are to dismiss an employee. Employees who consider that their dismissal was unfair can complain to an employment tribunal, generally subject to a qualifying period of continuous service.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of potholes.

Trudy Harrison: In Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales the responsibility for maintaining the highway rests with the respective devolved administration. However, structural maintenance works to local roads is a relevant intervention under the transport investment theme for the Levelling Up Fund.Round two of the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund launched 23 March 2022 and applications from all parts of the UK, including Northern Ireland are welcome. HM Government have published an updated prospectus that sets out guidance on how to apply.

Driving: Eyesight

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to introduce the Driver Vision Standard, which is currently operating in London, in other cities.

Trudy Harrison: The Transport for London direct vision standard is their initiative to improve safety for vulnerable road users by improving direct vision for drivers of goods vehicles over 12 tonnes. The Government makes legislation on a national basis and our focus is improving safety requirements for all new vehicles. There are no plans to introduce different requirements for driver vision on a city by city basis. The Government is actively considering the implementation of a range of measures intended to improve safety for all vehicles. The UK helped to establish these measures under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and they include improved direct vision for drivers of vehicles weighing over 3.5 tonnes.

Driving Licences: Disability

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the backlog of applications at the DVLA on drivers with disabilities.

Trudy Harrison: The quickest and easiest way to apply for a driving licence is by using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online service. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their licence within a few days.However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application and the DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day. The DVLA is working hard to process paper applications as quickly as possible for all drivers, including those with health conditions. To help reduce waiting times for paper applications, the DVLA has recruited more staff, increased overtime working and has opened new customer service centres in Swansea and Birmingham. These measures are having a positive impact and customers should continue to see an improving picture in terms of waiting times for paper applications.The DVLA recognises the impact of delays on drivers who have medical conditions or disabilities which may require them to renew their licence more regularly and is working hard to improve the process. Drivers with diabetes, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, a visual impairment, a sleep condition or a heart condition can renew their licence online.The DVLA has recently introduced a simplified licence renewal process for drivers with epilepsy and multiple sclerosis and is piloting this for some mental health conditions. This renewal process has significantly reduced the need for the DVLA to seek further information from medical professionals and enabled more licensing decisions to be made based on the information provided by the driver. The DVLA is looking at adding more medical conditions to this new process.The length of time taken to deal with an application depends on the medical condition(s) involved and whether further information is required from medical professionals. The majority of those renewing their licence will be able tocontinue driving while their application is being processed, providing they can meet the criteria outlined here.

Northern Trains: North West

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to assist Northern in introducing two trains per hour from Northwich station to (a) Manchester Piccadilly and (b) Chester.

Wendy Morton: Any future options will be considered as part of the Manchester Transformation Programme looking at requirements to improve reliability and increase capacity. More generally, the Rail North Partnership will continue to work with Northern to improve its services, including reinstating or adding services where there is the capacity to do so reliably, based on passenger demand, while recognising that travelling patterns have changed as a result of the pandemic.

Mid-Cheshire Line: Electrification

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to electrify the Mid-Cheshire railway line.

Wendy Morton: Electrification will play an important role in our modernisation of the railways.Specific technology decisions on individual railway lines, such as the Mid-Cheshire line, will need to factor in a range of economic and operational considerations.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Tidal Power

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to increase the amount of tidal power generated in the UK.

Greg Hands: The Government announced in November that the fourth Contracts for Difference allocation round will feature a £20m annual ringfenced budget for tidal stream energy. The Government remains open to considering well-developed proposals for harnessing the tidal range energy around our coastlines. Any such proposal would need to demonstrate strong evidence of value for money before the Government could take a view on its potential.

Energy: Prices

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will direct OFGEM to ensure a pricing system for domestic energy supply that does not see those on pre-paid meters paying a higher rate.

Greg Hands: The Price Cap protects 4 million pre-payment meter customers, ensuring those customers pay a fair price for their energy. The costs of managing prepayment meters compared to standard meters are higher due to the different metering requirements and different payment systems. Supply Licence Conditions, as enforced by Ofgem, stipulate charges must reflect the cost to the supplier.

Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Allan Dorans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason domestic feed-in tariffs are not issued on a variable rather than yearly basis to better reflect the variability of the electricity market.

Greg Hands: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave my Hon. Friend the Member for Stockton South on 28 February 2022 to Question 125580.

Carbon Emissions

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the impact of rising global gas prices on achieving the Government's net zero targets; and what steps he plans to take to mitigate that impact.

Greg Hands: The UK's exposure to volatile gas prices reinforces the importance of the government’s plans for a strong renewable energy sector to strengthen the UK’s future energy security and resilience. The Government will shortly set out an energy supply strategy which will drive forward renewable energy and nuclear capacity to bolster domestic supply and help drive down energy costs.

Drax Power Station: Carbon Emissions

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his answer of 25 November 2021 to question 75086, what steps he plans to take to make a comparative assessment of the effect of burning (a) wood pellets and (b) coal at the Drax power station on achieving net zero in the absence of information on the carbon transport costs of either process.

Greg Hands: The Renewables Obligation Order (RO) and Contracts for Difference (CfD) sustainability criteria require that electricity generation from biomass does not exceed a set greenhouse gas threshold and produces life-cycle emission savings:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contracts-for-difference-cfd-allocation-round-4-standard-terms-and-conditionshttps://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/renewables-obligation-sustainability-criteria.

Energy Supply

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with Ofgem on (a) differing forms of power production, (b) their differing costs to produce power and (c) the influence of those on setting the market price of a MWHr.

Greg Hands: The Renewables Obligation Order (RO) and Contracts for Difference (CfD) sustainability criteria require that electricity generation from biomass does not exceed a set greenhouse gas threshold and produces life-cycle emission savings:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/contracts-for-difference-cfd-allocation-round-4-standard-terms-and-conditionshttps://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/renewables-obligation-sustainability-criteria.

Energy: Prices

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with Ofgem on the (a) energy price cap rise and (b) its criteria of setting the price of a MWHr.

Greg Hands: It is Ofgem’s role, as the independent regulator, to set a fair level for the price cap. Legislation sets out that Ofgem must review the level of the cap at least once every 6 months to ensure the cap appropriately reflects the underlying costs of energy, and the need to ensure that energy suppliers who operate efficiently are able to finance their activities. Ofgem robustly developed and widely consulted on their methodology for determining the cap level, which was last published on 4 February 2022.

Carbon Emissions and Hydrogen: Finance

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to provide further detail on the (a) twin track production strategy for hydrogen and (b) Industrial Decarbonisation and Hydrogen Revenue Support scheme.

Greg Hands: The Government will shortly be publishing responses to the consultations on the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard, and Hydrogen Business Model. The latter provides the framework for spending under the Industrial Decarbonisation and Hydrogen Revenue Scheme. These publications will set out more detail on how the Government will support both electrolytic ‘green’ and carbon capture enabled ‘blue’ hydrogen production, as part of a twin track approach. The Government expects that up to 500MW of electrolytic hydrogen production projects and 1GW of CCUS-enabled hydrogen will be operational or in construction by the mid-2020s.

Hydrogen

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his planned timetable is for the six-month update on the Hydrogen Strategy.

Greg Hands: The Government published its first ever UK Hydrogen Strategy in August 2021, putting the UK at the forefront of the race to develop low carbon hydrogen. The Strategy committed to provide regular updates to the market as our policy develops, with the first of these updates expected shortly. This will include publishing responses to our consultations on the Hydrogen Business Model, Net Zero Hydrogen Fund and Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard.

Carbon Capture and Storage and Hydrogen

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the UK maximises the potential economic opportunities of low carbon hydrogen and carbon capture, usage and storage.

Greg Hands: The Government has committed to publishing a Sector Development Action Plan to set out how government and industry will support UK companies to seize supply chain opportunities, skills and jobs across the hydrogen economy. In addition, the Government’s aim to capture and store 20-30 MtCO2 per year by 2030 will offer significant opportunities for investment and UK exports.

Hydrogen

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Hydrogen Strategy and Net Zero Strategy, what progress his Department has made on understanding the (a) costs and (b) benefits of introducing hydrogen into the power sector.

Greg Hands: The Government views hydrogen as an important component of the UK’s future power system. Government analysis[1] shows that having hydrogen available in the power sector could achieve lower emissions at a lower cost than scenarios without hydrogen. The extent of hydrogen’s impact is dependent on the quantity and cost of hydrogen available for generating electricity. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/modelling-2050-electricity-system-analysis

Hydrogen: Storage

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the levels of hydrogen storage capacity required to (a) facilitate the anticipated growth of and (b) help guard against price spikes in that market; and what steps he plans to take to help ensure that that capacity is delivered in a timely manner.

Greg Hands: In the UK Hydrogen Strategy, the Government set out that hydrogen storage can support the hydrogen economy in a range of ways that position it as a strategic asset as part of a fully decarbonised, net zero economy. In the strategy, the Government committed to undertake a review of systemic hydrogen storage requirements in the 2020s and beyond, including its potential role as a critical enabler for some end-use sectors. The review is underway and will consider whether funding or other incentives are needed, whether regulation might be required to ensure that the necessary storage infrastructure is available when needed, and what form this might take.

Carbon Capture and Storage

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the levels of offshore CO2 storage capacity required to meet projections for (a) hydrogen production and (b) industrial and power carbon capture projects for 2035 and beyond; and what steps he plans to take to help ensure that that capacity is delivered in a timely manner.

Greg Hands: The UK has an estimated 78 billion tonnes of CO2 storage capacity on its Continental Shelf. This is more than adequate storage capacity to meet CO2 storage requirements for hydrogen production and industrial and power carbon capture projects. In the Net Zero Strategy, the UK set out an ambition to capture 20-30 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of CO2 by 2030, including 6 million tonnes per year of industrial emissions, and at least 50 Mtpa by the mid-2030s. The Department continues to work with key regulatory and industry partners to ensure the capacity needed to store CO2 is made available.

Re-employment

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Written Statement of 29 March 2022, HCWS735 on Business Update, what criteria are proposed for when a Tribunal can award an uplift in compensation to an employee.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Written Statement of 29 March 2022 HCWS735 on Business Update, whether the 25 per cent uplift in compensation awards for employees affected applies to (a) unfair dismissal awards and (b) protective payments for collective consultation breaches.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Written Statement of 29 March 2022, HCWS735 on Business Update, whether the 25 per cent uplift in compensation apply in all cases where employees were dismissed or only if they were subsequently re-engaged.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Written Statement of 29 March 2022, HCWS735 on Business Update, whether the Code will prohibit employers giving notices of dismissal while a consultation period is ongoing.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Written Statement of 29 March 2022, HCWS735 on Business Update, whether the statutory code of practice on dismissal and reengagement will apply where there are fewer than 20 employees affected in one establishment.

Paul Scully: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will bring forward a statutory code of practice on dismissal and reengagement. Under section 204 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, the Secretary of State is required to publish a draft and consider any representations. The Department will engage with trade unions as part of that consultation. The scope of the Code and its remedies will be in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Legislation to lay the Code will be introduced when parliamentary time allows and will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

Supply Teachers

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of agencies which provide supply teachers to schools in the UK are assessed as being regulated by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Paul Scully: All employment businesses based in Great Britain are regulated by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, part of BEIS, under the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations 2003 (both as amended). Employment Business based in Northern Ireland are regulated by the Employment Agency Inspectorate, under The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (as amended).

Small Businesses: Inflation

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the financial impact of inflation on small and medium-sized enterprises.

Paul Scully: The Office for Budget Responsibility, in their March 2022 forecast, expects GDP to grow by 3.8% in 2022. Further details can be found in the OBR’s latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in March 2022: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2022/. The Government is providing a range of support to help with the cost of living. As announced on 23 March, the Government is cutting fuel duty for 12 months, doubling the Household Support Fund with an extra £500m, zero-rating VAT on energy-saving materials, and aligning National Insurance and Income Tax starting thresholds from July 2022 so people will be able to earn £12,570 a year without paying any Income Tax or National Insurance. This builds on existing support, including business rates relief worth £7 billion over five years and the package of support announced on 3 February to help households with rising energy bills worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23.

Department of Health and Social Care

Endometriosis

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a response to Early Day Motion 1110, NICE guideline on endometriosis diagnosis and management.

Edward Argar: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and reviews its published guidelines to determine whether they should be updated in light of new evidence or emerging issues not in the scope of the original guideline. NICE plans to review its guideline on endometriosis in 2022/23 to consider whether it should be updated.

NHS: Coronavirus

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to continue to screen all NHS staff and patients for covid-19 beyond 1 April 2022.

Edward Argar: The Government will continue to provide free symptomatic testing for individuals who live or work in high-risk closed settings, such as in some National Health Service, social care and detention settings to minimise outbreaks. We will continue to provide free symptomatic testing for patients in hospital, where a test is required for clinical management or to support treatment pathways. NHS England will contact those who are eligible.

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Shortages

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to tackle th shortage of hormone replacement therapy medications in pharmacies.

Edward Argar: The Department is aware of supply issues affecting a very limited number of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products. However, most remain available, including alternatives to those experiencing supply issues. We continue to work with all suppliers of HRT medicines to resolve these issues and maintain overall supply to patients in the United Kingdom. We also share regular updates on supply issues and management advice with the National Health Service and the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists.

Heart Diseases: Paracetamol

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the accuracy of reports of a link between paracetamol usage and increased risk of heart conditions.

Edward Argar: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) monitors the safety of all medicines on the market in the United Kingdom. The MHRA recently reviewed a research paper on the effects of paracetamol on blood pressure in patients with hypertension without pain and sought expert advice from the Pharmacovigilance Expert Advisory Group of the Commission on Human Medicines. The experts considered the limitations of the study as it was not representative of the whole population who experience pain and recommended that further evidence is needed to determine effect on blood pressure within the wider population.The MHRA keeps all new evidence on the safety of paracetamol kept under review. Alternative medicines which can be used to treat pain have known and significant risks on the heart and therefore, the MHRA does not recommend patients change their pain medicine without the advice of their healthcare professional.

Brain: Tumours

Holly Mumby-Croft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been provided by the Government for site-specific brain tumour research each year in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, (c) 2020, (d) 2021 and (e) 2022 to date.

Maria Caulfield: The information is not held in the format requested.The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The following table shows the funding provided for site-specific brain tumour research in each financial year since 2018/19. This does not include the NHIR’s infrastructure spending. 2018/192019/202020/212021/22£2.9 million£432,000£2.1 million£5.3 million The decrease in funding in 2019/20 was due to the number of unsuccessful brain tumour applications. We rely on researchers to submit high-quality funding proposals within a difficult area with a small research community. The NIHR released an announcement to the research community in April 2018, making clear the desire to receive brain tumour research funding applications. Additionally, working closely with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission, we have held customised workshops to support the research community in submitting more fundable research applications to the NIHR. All applications which were fundable in open competition have been funded. We will also provide funding for the research training elements of the Tessa Jowell Fellowships to train specialist brain tumour oncologists and therefore increase the research community.

General Practitioners

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of full time employed (a) qualified GPs and (b) training grade GPs in the general practice workforce in (i) London and (ii) England in each year since 2010.

Maria Caulfield: The following table shows the number of qualified salaried general practitioners (GPs) employed in the general practice workforce on a full time basis of 37.5 hours a week in England since 2015, headcount. Number of headcount salaried GPs working 37.5 hours and over per weekSeptember 20151,480September 20161,569September 20171,554September 20181,541September 20191,497September 20201,483September 20211,554 Notes:Data from September 2015 and September 2016 should be treated with caution as the data submission rates from practices were appreciably lower than for subsequent reporting periods. In September 2015, which was the first extract from the new Workforce Minimum Data Set, three of four Health Education England regions submitted data. Consequently, September 2015 figures should be treated with additional caution.Figures shown do not include regular GP locums or staff working in prisons, army bases, educational establishments, specialist care centres including drug rehabilitation centres, walk-in centres and other alternative settings outside of traditional general practice such as urgent treatment centres and minor injury units.Though there is no specific data for salaried GPs, other GPs were defined as GPs who worked within partnerships and were formerly known as GMS or PMS Others. These practitioners are generally remunerated by salary.The FTE figures for GPs from September 2015 onwards are not directly comparable with FTE figures from the National Health Application and Infrastructure Services (NHAIS) and manual collection due to NHAIS having a default value of 1.0 FTE whereas the Primary Care Web Tool (PCWT) has no default value. NHAIS capped individual GP FTE at 1.28 (48 hours); in the PCWT the cap is 2.0 FTE (75 hours). NHAIS has instances of GPs working at multiple practices each with the default value of 1.0. For example, a GP working at five practices would have an FTE of 5.0 from NHAIS which was capped at 1.28 for the publication. NHAIS has instances of GPs recorded against specific practices at which they no longer work but their records have not yet been removed. If these GPs had multiple records, they would have been capped at 1.28 FTE in the publication. NHAIS FTE field is non-mandatory, PCWT FTE is mandatory and the data provider has to complete it in order to pass data quality checks and enable submission of their data. NHAIS FTE field was mainly used for the annual census and was not used for payment purposes The following table shows the number of GPs employed in the general practice workforce on a full time basis in England in each year between 2010 and 2014, headcount. This data was collected through the general practice census, which recorded the details of GPs in England along with information on their practices, staff, patients and the services they provide. General practice workforce statistics from prior to 2015 are not comparable to the official statistics produced since September 2015, due to differences in data sources and methodologies. Number of headcount other GPs working 37.5 hours and over per weekSeptember 20105,109September 20114,608September 20125,298September 20136,343September 20147,266  As independent contractors to the National Health Service, GP partners are not considered to be employed by their practice. The information requested for GPs in London and those in training grade is not held centrally.

Coronavirus: Quarantine

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the proportion of people who have shielded as a result of vulnerability to covid-19 during the outbreak, by ethnicity.

Maggie Throup: The information requested is not held centrally. The Shielded Patient List includes data by ethnicity, although it does not include people who may have voluntarily decided to shield and is no longer updated. The list is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/dashboards/shielded-patient-list-open-data-set#data-by-demographics

Earwax: Medical Treatments

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of NHS patients who have been unable to access ear wax removal service in the last year for which figures are available.

Maria Caulfield: No formal estimate has been made. General practitioner (GP) practices are increasingly recommending self-care methods as the primary means to support the safe removal of ear wax. However, if a GP practice considers removal clinically necessary, the procedure should either be undertaken at the practice or the patient should be referred to an appropriate local NHS service, depending on the arrangements in place in the local area. Local commissioners are responsible for meeting the health needs of the local population and should continue to ensure there is appropriate access to ear wax services.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to maintain covid-19 restrictions in areas with high levels of (a) infection and (b) hospitalisation.

Maggie Throup: We have no plans to do so. Although case numbers remain high, evidence indicates that the link between COVID-19 infections and progression to severe disease is substantially weaker than in earlier phases of the pandemic. We will manage COVID-19 in line with most other respiratory illnesses while protecting the most vulnerable, including through the vaccination programme. As of 29 March 2022, 85.8% of the population aged over 12 years old have received two doses of the vaccine and 71.9% of those aged over 18 years old have received a third primary dose or booster vaccination, in England. Since 21 March 2022, more than 641,000 third or fourth doses have been administered in the spring booster campaign, with more than 454,000 third or fourth doses administered to those aged 75 years old and over.

Department for Education

Children

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will make an assessment of the implications for its policies of Action for Children’s report entitled Brighter Future Ahead? Comparing three generations of childhood.

Will Quince: The department welcomes Action for Children’s report.Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.With almost 1.32 million vacancies across the UK, the department's focus is on supporting parents into, and to progress in, work wherever possible. The department's approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. The expanded Plan for Jobs continues to help people across the UK to find work and to boost their wages and prospects.In the 2021 Budget, the government announced a £500 million package for families. This includes a £200 million uplift to the Supporting Families programme taking total planned investment across the next 3 years to £695 million. This funding will help up to 300,000 more families facing multiple, interconnected issues to access effective support and improve their life outcomes.£300 million of funding will be used to transform ‘Start for Life’ services and create a network of family hubs in half of council areas in England. This includes funding for a network of Family Hubs (£82 million) and parenting programs (£50 million). The government is committed to family hubs and will robustly evaluate the impact of the investment to gather best practice and inform future funding decisions.The report also recommends a legal duty for early help. The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care is due to set out its final recommendations this spring, and the government will consider those relevant to early help to inform any next steps.

Grammar Schools: Social Mobility

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of grammar schools on social mobility.

Mr Robin Walker: 99% of grammar schools are good or outstanding. 75% percent are outstanding. They provide excellent education and are oversubscribed.There is already a wide range of published research that explores the question of the effect of grammar schools on social mobility. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]In order to promote greater social mobility, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department for Education and the Grammar School Heads Association sets out the commitment of its members to increase the number of disadvantaged pupils on roll. Many prioritise pupil premium children for admission. Those gaining places in a grammar school will benefit from the high quality education they deliver.Alongside the MOU, the 22 successful bids from the Selective Schools Expansion Fund all prioritise pupil premium children for admission, with some also committing to lowering the entrance test pass mark for such pupils and undertaking outreach work to increase the number of disadvantaged pupils on roll. They are in the early stages of delivering their five-year plans. [1] Andrews et al., 2016, EPI, “Grammar schools and social mobility”[2] Atkinson et al., 2006, "The result of 11+ Selection: An Investigation into Opportunities and Outcomes for Pupils in Selective LEAs"[3] Gorard and Siddiqui, 2016, "Grammar schools in England: a new approach to analysing their intakes and outcomes"[4] Burgess et al., 2018, "Assessing the role of grammar schools in promoting social mobility"[5] Cribb et al., 2013, "Entry into Grammar Schools in England"

Free School Meals

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will review the £7,400 income threshold for free school meals in response to the rising cost of living and inflation.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to (a) automatically enrol for free school meals those school children who are eligible and (b) expand the eligibility criteria to include all children who meet the income criteria, regardless of their parents’ circumstances.

Will Quince: The provision of free school meals (FSM) to children from out-of-work families or those on low incomes is of the utmost importance to this government. Under the benefits-related criteria the department provides a free healthy meal to around 1.7 million children, ensuring they are well nourished and can concentrate, learn and achieve in the classroom.Under this government, eligibility for FSM has been extended several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century, including the introduction of universal infant FSM, and further education FSM.The department is also permanently extending FSM eligibility to children from all groups with no recourse to public funds. This will come into effect for the start of the summer term. We also want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their FSM, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.To support this, the department provides an eligibility checking system to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities. We have also developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for FSM and provide guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including FSM.As announced in the Spring Statement, the government is continuing to provide targeted cost of living support for households most in need. From April, the government is providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of household essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1 billion.

Family Hubs

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many family hubs he estimates will be established in (a) England and (b) the South East by 2024.

Will Quince: In the 2021 Budget, the government announced £82 million to create a network of family hubs. This is part of a wider £300 million package to transform services for parents, carers, babies, and children in half of local authorities across England. It builds on the £39.5 million the government had already committed to family hubs to champion the model, including a £12 million transformation fund which will support at least 12 local authorities in England to transform to a family hub model of service delivery.Family hubs are a way of joining up locally to improve access to services, the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers, and putting relationships at the heart of family help. They bring together services for children of all ages, with a great Start for Life offer at their core. How services are delivered varies from place to place and the department will work with local authorities eligible for the funds above to establish ambitious plans for their family hubs, considering local circumstance and need. More detail will be set out in due course.

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support children in education who have foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Will Quince: The government is committed to pupils with medical conditions, including foetal alcohol syndrome, being properly supported at school so that they have full access to education.In 2014, the government introduced a new duty on schools to support pupils with all medical conditions and has published statutory guidance on this for schools and others. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.The guidance does not specify which medical conditions should be supported in schools. Instead, it focuses on how to meet the needs of each individual child and how their medical condition impacts on school life.All schools are required to identify and address the special educational needs of the pupils they support, and to make sure that a child or young person gets the support they need.

Children's Social Care Independent Review

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care will be published.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the final report of the Independent Review on Children's Social Care launched in January 2021 will be published.

Will Quince: The review is scheduled to share its final recommendations in the spring and the government will respond to the recommendations once the review concludes.

Children in Care

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked after children local authorities reported as being placed outside of (a) their local authority area and (b) England in the year January 2020 to December 2020 inclusive.

Will Quince: The latest figures on children looked after by the locality of the placement are shown in the attached table. The children looked after collection (SSDA903 return) collects information about children who are looked after by local authorities from 1 April to the 31 March each year and these are the time periods presented in the attached table. Figures have been provided for the years ending 31 March 2020 and 31 March 2021.A range of figures on children looked after by placement location in a different format to that provided in the table are published in the table ‘National – Children looked after by placement type, distance and the locality of placement’ in the annual statistical release available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions. 148327_table (xls, 55.5KB)

Family Hubs: Digital Technology

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what digital support her Department will provide as part of her family hubs offer.

Will Quince: Through the ‘Family Hubs – Growing Up Well’ digital project, we are partnering with five local authorities in England to develop digital and data solutions that solve problems faced by local authorities in delivering accessible, inter-connected education, health, and social care services for families. The solutions will focus on improving how information is shared between professionals across a range of services in a Family Hub Network, and how families access and navigate services. These are key to strengthening the practical implementation of Family Hub Networks and levelling up outcomes for vulnerable and disadvantaged families. Subject to standard agile digital delivery methodology, the solutions will enter beta testing in the 2022/23 financial year. We anticipate that they will be available for participating local authorities in England in 2023.

Free School Meals: Migrants

David Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the review of free school meals to children from families with no recourse to public funds.

David Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department holds data on the impact of the extension of free school meals to children in families with no recourse to public funds on the educational attainment of those children.

Will Quince: The work that has been done on reviewing the relationship between the no resource to public funds (NRPF) condition, and access to free school meals (FSM) will not be published.FSM eligibility will be extended to children from all groups with NRPF from the start of the summer term, with guidance for schools being published shortly. Information on the number of children who received a free meal, and attracted pupil premium funding under the temporary extension of free school meal eligibility to some NRPF households in the 2021/2022 financial year can be found in the third document here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2021-to-2022.

School Libraries: Finance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of funding for school libraries.

Mr Robin Walker: The department believes that all pupils deserve to be taught a knowledge rich curriculum that promotes the extensive reading of books and other kinds of texts, both in and out of school. School libraries complement public libraries in helping pupils to do this.Schools in England have the flexibility to make their own decisions on how to prioritise their spending to invest in a wide range of activities and resources that will best support their staff and pupils. It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils, including whether to employ a qualified librarian. Many head teachers recognise the important role school libraries play in improving literacy and encouraging pupils to read for pleasure, and ensure that suitable library facilities are provided.The government continues to deliver year on year, real terms per pupil increases to school funding in England. The total core school budget is increasing to £56.8 billion by the 2024/25 financial year, a £7 billion cash increase compared with 2021/22. Future increases in funding have been frontloaded to rapidly get money to schools, so that in 2022/23 alone, core schools funding will increase by £4 billion compared to 2021/22. This total includes a £2.5 billion increase in mainstream school funding for 5 to 16 year olds in 2022/23, compared to 2021/22. This is equivalent to an average 5.8% cash increase, or £300, per pupil, with each local authority forecast to see at least a 4.7% increase per pupil.Responsibility for funding school libraries is devolved in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Executive receive funding through the Barnett formula in line with the principles set out in the Statement of Funding Policy. It is for the Northern Ireland Executive to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit.

Department for Education: Public Opinion

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department has spent on (a) focus group research, (b) opinion polling and (c) other forms of opinion research in each of the last 20 years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department has spent on all forms of educational research other than opinion research, such as focus group research and opinion polling, in each of the last 15 years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department made of its spending on all forms of educational research, other than on focus group research and opinion polling, in each of the next three financial years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department proposes to spend on (a) focus group research, (b) opinion polling and (c) other forms of opinion research in each of the next three financial years.

Michelle Donelan: Annual spend on research and development by government departments is collected by ONS. The survey results are published here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/researchanddevelopmentexpenditure/datasets/scienceengineeringandtechnologystatisticsreferencetables). Table 3 provides information by department. This data collection goes back to 2008 and will be updated in April 2022.Future spend on all forms of educational research, other than on focus group research and opinion polling (social and economic research) is expected to be similar to the previously published figures. This budget covers large scale statistical collections and participation in a number of international studies. These large-scale studies account for the majority of the department’s spend on social and economic research. Current and available historical information on previous contracts for government research is published on: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.In line with the professional standards for government communicators, research is conducted to understand audiences so that government communication can be relevant, meaningful and effective, and as part of evaluation to assess performance in delivering on objectives such as changing behaviour, improving operational effectiveness, building the reputation of the UK and explaining government policies and programmes.This research activity draws on the full range of quantitative and qualitative methods, including focus groups, opinion polling and other forms of opinion research appropriate to the requirement but spend is not recorded by research method.Communications spend, including communications research, is approved as part of the government advertising, marketing and communications spend controls process and spend over £25,000 since 2010 is published and available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-department-and-executive-agency-spend-over-25-000.Future spend on communications research is not committed in advance but allocated as part of overall business planning processes in line with department finance and commercial processes, and subject to government advertising, marketing and communications spend controls process.

T-levels: Work Experience

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure that work placements for T-levels are available in every town in the UK.

Alex Burghart: Ensuring employers are made aware of T Levels and are well prepared to deliver high-quality industry placements is key to the success of T Level delivery. We have invested over £200 million over the past 4 years to help providers build their capacity and relationships with employers and have developed a comprehensive package of advice and guidance to support providers to deliver placements, as well as networking opportunities to share best practice.We are engaging directly with employers of all sizes throughout England, via the Department’s employer engagement teams, to promote the benefits of T Levels and of hosting industry placements. We are providing an extensive programme of employer focussed support to help ensure employers are able to deliver placements. This includes a comprehensive employer support package, which offers guidance, workshops and webinars, as well as tailored advice and direct hands-on support, to help build employer confidence, capability and capacity to deliver high-quality industry placements. We have also implemented different delivery models to ensure placements can be delivered by employers across all industries and locations. Our T Level ambassador network is enabling employers to engage with others in their industries on T Levels and placements, via events and webinars. Finally, we have put in place a short-term incentive fund, offering employers £1,000 per industry placement, to encourage employers to offer placements during the pandemic, which has been warmly welcomed by employers.We will continue to monitor the delivery of placements throughout England and work closely with employers to identify what support they will need going forward to enable them to deliver high-quality placements.

Children: Literacy

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve literacy standards amongst children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Mr Robin Walker: The ‘Schools White Paper – Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child’, which was published on 28 March 2022, sets out our long-term vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential by ensuring that they receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time. The cornerstones of a broad, academic, knowledge-rich curriculum are literacy and numeracy. The full White Paper can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/opportunity-for-all-strong-schools-with-great-teachers-for-your-child.As set out in the White Paper, our ambition for literacy and numeracy is that by 2030 90% of primary school children will achieve the expected standard in reading, writing, and mathematics, and the percentage of children meeting the expected standard in the worst performing areas will have increased by a third.The White Paper adds to this by setting an ambition that in secondary schools the national GCSE average grade in both English language and in mathematics increases from 4.5 in 2019 to 5 by 2030. These aims are not for any one school or teacher to achieve alone, but a measurement of success across the country at a system level. The department’s strategy to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes for all children carefully considers how we do this for vulnerable or disadvantaged groups, including children who are on free school meals or those with special educational needs.The White Paper builds on the department’s record of supporting the improvement of literacy standards over the past decade, including the introduction of the phonics screening check, the English Hubs programme, the publication of the reading framework, and the validation of phonics programmes. The English Hubs are currently delivering intensive support to over 1000 partner schools, reaching approximately 50,000 pupils in reception and year 1. Supported schools containing an above-average proportion of free school meal pupils over-represented in the programme, along with those schools underperforming in phonics. These dedicated Hubs will continue to support schools to drive up literacy standards, including driving improvements in the quality of early reading teaching.In addition, from autumn 2022, the National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for Leading Literacy will be available. The qualification has been designed to develop teacher expertise in leading the development of pupils’ language, reading, and writing in all key stages. It is aimed at teachers and leaders who have, or are aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading literacy across a school, year group, key stage, or phase. The content framework which underpins this qualification was published in October 2021 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-professional-qualifications-frameworks-from-september-2021. Further details around eligibility and funding for this qualification will be announced in due course.

Academies

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in reference to the Schools White Paper, if he will enable local authorities to support orphan schools in the event that Regional School Commissioners are unable to find a multi-academy trust to take those schools on.

Mr Robin Walker: The government’s vision, as set out in the ‘Opportunity for all’ White Paper, is for a school-led system where every school is part of a family of schools in a strong multi academy trust (MAT).Where a maintained school is eligible for intervention, the department will match it with a strong MAT sponsor that has the capacity to deliver sustained improvements. More than 7 out of 10 sponsored academies are now rated Good or Outstanding, compared to about 1 in 10 of the local authority maintained schools they replaced.The department is working with Falcon Education Academies Trust and St Joseph’s Catholic MAT to pilot a new approach for maintained schools and academies that, for various reasons, cannot be placed with a strong MAT sponsor.

Training

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will reintroduce Government Training Centres to help adults with learning new work skills.

Alex Burghart: The government has already put in place a wide range of opportunities for adults to gain the skills they need for employment. We are delivering the Lifetime Skills Guarantee to allow adults to upskill and reskill at different points in their life.Provision for adults is available to learners across the country through a range of providers, including further education colleges and independent learning providers.The department invests in education and skills training for adults through the adult education budget (AEB) (£1.34 billion in academic year 2021/22), which fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship, or further learning.The AEB also funds colleges and training providers to help adult learners to overcome barriers which prevent them from taking part in learning. This includes Learner Support, to support learners with a specific financial hardship, and Learning Support to meet the additional needs of learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.We are investing £2.5 billion (£3 billion when including Barnett funding for devolved administrations) in the National Skills Fund. This is a significant investment and has the potential to deliver new opportunities to generations of adults who may have been previously left behind.We are investing £1.6 billion through the Fund in the next three years, on top of the £375 million already committed in financial year 2021/22. This is funding the free courses for jobs offer, which gives eligible adults the chance to access their first level 3 qualifications for free. In addition, we have recently announced that from April, any adult in England earning under the National Living Wage annually (£18,525) or unemployed, will also be able to access these qualifications for free, regardless of their prior qualification level.Complementing this support for adults through the fund, Skills Bootcamps offer free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer.There will also be opportunities for adults across the whole of the UK to develop their numeracy skills through the Multiply programme, supported by £560 million across the next three years funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This means that wherever people live, and whatever stage of life they are at, they will be able to access training and education that gives them the skills that employers want and can lead to good jobs and career progression.There have been over 5 million apprenticeship starts since May 2010. Since 2015, we have transformed apprenticeships into a prestigious option that better meets the skills needs of employers across the country. There are currently over 640 high-quality, industry designed standards available and we are aiming to continue to improve and grow apprenticeships, so more employers and individuals can benefit from them. We are making apprenticeships more flexible for employers in all sectors and creating new pathways for high-quality employment.

Apprentices: STEM Subjects

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to increase the number of apprenticeships in STEM professions.

Alex Burghart: The government recognises the demand for science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) skills is increasing. Ensuring that anyone, regardless of their background, can pursue a career in a STEM occupation is a key priority for this government.Apprenticeships are a great way for people to receive high-quality training and begin, or progress in, a successful STEM career. We have put employers at the heart of our apprenticeship system, empowering them to design the standards they need with the help of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. There are over 340 employer-designed apprenticeship standards in STEM, including Cyber Security Technician at Level 3, and Civil Engineer (degree) at level 6.It is encouraging to see that in the 2020/21 academic year, there were 78,100 apprenticeship starts in STEM, making up 24% of all apprenticeship starts that year.We are continuing to promote apprenticeships in schools through the Apprenticeship Support & Knowledge programme and are working with our Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network of influential employers such as Siemens, Bombardier, and Rolls-Royce to promote best practices in recruiting and retaining people from all backgrounds in STEM apprenticeships.

Vocational Guidance: STEM Subjects

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure that young people in every region of the UK have access to STEM-specific careers provision.

Alex Burghart: Supporting schools to deliver science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related careers education is important, so that young people are aware of the full range of careers associated with STEM subjects.The department works with The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) to support schools and colleges in England to achieve the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance, available here: https://www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-areas/good-career-guidance. Gatsby Benchmark 4, linking curriculum learning to careers, is particularly relevant. STEM subject teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of career pathways.Gatsby Benchmark 5, encounters with employers and employees, sets out that schools should give pupils access to meaningful encounters with a range of employers and workplaces. Secondary schools are expected to provide pupils with at least one meaningful interaction with employers per pupil per year, with a particular focus on STEM employers. These interactions open young people’s eyes to a range of different career possibilities, help prepare them for the workplace, and can challenge stereotypes.The CEC provide resources to support schools and colleges. These include a series of STEM toolkits (with a guide for teachers on linking careers to the STEM curriculum), a relaunched STEM careers webpage with an increased focus on department funded resources, and innovative STEM focused careers projects run by several Careers Hubs.

Ministry of Justice

Criminal Proceedings

Tom Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to monitor older people’s experience of the criminal justice system.

Kit Malthouse: We recognise that some older people can need additional support to access services.Vulnerable victims, including some older victims, may face specific barriers to engaging victim support services or the criminal justice system. The Victims’ Code sets out a clear framework of 12 key overarching entitlements that set out what all victims can expect from all criminal justice agencies. Vulnerable victims are eligible for enhanced support under the Code, such as being offered a referral to a specialist support service, being contacted sooner after key decisions and having access to special measures when giving evidence.We have also recently consulted on a Victims’ Bill, which will build on the foundations provided by the Victims’ Code to substantially improve victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system. The consultation committed to placing the Code in legislation, and explored options in relation to using victims’ experiences to drive improvements, and making clearer and sharper lines of accountability if victims do not receive their entitlements from criminal justice agencies.We also recognise that older individuals in the criminal justice system can face barriers to accessing services which can rehabilitate them. We are developing an ageing prison population strategy currently, with the aim of ensuring older prisoners are rehabilitated successfully, reducing reoffending and better protecting the public.

Domestic Abuse Act 2021

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date will section 65 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 commence.

Kit Malthouse: Section 65 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 is due to come into force later this spring. This important measure will ensure that no victim of domestic abuse has to endure the trauma of being cross-examined in person by, or cross-examining, their abuser in specified circumstances in family proceedings.

Ministry of Justice: Public Expenditure

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will detail the losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for his departmental group as defined by section A4.10.7 in HM Treasury's Managing Public Money for (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

Kit Malthouse: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost, as the details of losses and special payments under £300,000 are not held in a single format centrally. Losses and special payments are, however, published in summary form in the Parliamentary Accountability section of MoJ's Annual Report and Accounts, as well as in the Annual Report and Accounts of each executive agency and arm's length body. This includes losses and special payments valued above £300,000, which are recorded and reported according to category, such as cash losses, stores losses, compensation payments and ex gratia payments etc.

Treasury

Government Departments: Recruitment

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which departmental groups besides HM Treasury Group have been allocated expenditure for an increase in full time equivalent headcount of more than 4.4 per cent in 2022-23.

Mr Simon Clarke: Departmental settlements for 2022-23 were set out at the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021. It is for departments to determine how to manage their headcount within the settlements. At SR21 the government committed to reducing non-frontline civil service headcount to 2019-20 levels by 2024-25 bar justifiable exemptions.

Charitable Trusts: Legal Opinion

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what legal advice his Department has sought on the cy-près doctrine or the operation cy-près schemes since 2017.

Mr Simon Clarke: HM Treasury has not sought any external legal advice on the cy-près doctrine or the operation of cy-près schemes since 2017.

Arms Length Bodies and Government Departments: Fraud

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Ninth report from Session 2021-22, published on 28 October 2021, HC 253, whether his Department made an assessment of the counter fraud capacity in departments and arms-lengths bodies.

Mr Simon Clarke: HMT and the Government Counter Fraud Function are currently conducting a review into counter fraud capacity in departments and selected ALBs.

Government Departments: Fraud

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Ninth report Session 2021-22, published on 28 October 2021, HC 253, if his Department will identify and publish all the fraud and error risks to public money across government to a level of detail that does not increase fraud risks overall.

Mr Simon Clarke: While greater transparency is welcomed, publishing individual fraud and error risks could increase the overall risk of fraud. As such, the government will not publish fraud risks at this level of detail. However, if the GFRA continues, the GCFF will provide access to it across government (including to Finance leads) and update it annually.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Ukraine: Armed Conflict

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions the Government has had with the Government of the People's Republic of China on the conflict in Ukraine.

Amanda Milling: We are engaging with China in London, Beijing and the UN. The Prime Minister spoke to President Xi on 25 March and the Foreign Secretary spoke with her Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi, on 25 February. Both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary underlined that the UK expects China to stand up for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and uphold its commitment to the UN Charter. They urged China to use its relationship with Russia to press for an end to the war and to prevent a large-scale humanitarian crisis, rather than condoning or excusing Russia's actions.

Fraud: Foreign Nationals

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support UK citizens who have been defrauded by individuals who reside in foreign countries.

Amanda Milling: Our global network of consular staff endeavour to give appropriate and tailored support to British nationals overseas and their families in the UK 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. What we can and cannot do is set out clearly in:  Support for British nationals Abroad: A Guide,  which is available on gov.uk.  We help around 30,000 British nationals abroad each year. Cases range from supporting those who have lost their passports, been victims of crimes like fraud or robbery, through to complicated long-running consular cases such as people detained overseas.If a British national is the victim of crime overseas they can contact the nearest British embassy, high commission or consulate, or the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in London to request consular assistance. We can provide general information about local police and legal procedures. We cannot give legal advice, but have lists of local English-speaking lawyers and interpreters available on gov.uk. Individuals should consider appointing a local lawyer who can look after their interests in any legal proceedings abroad. Individuals in the UK should report any crimes to the UK police; police forces can cooperate internationally through Interpol.

Afghanistan: Chevening Scholarships Programme

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many times her Department has been contacted by Chevening scholars requesting her Department’s assistance to leave Afghanistan, since 15 August 2021.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department regarding providing refuge to Chevening scholars in Afghanistan.

Vicky Ford: The FCDO contacted all 2021 Afghan Chevening scholars in August to offer them evacuation to the UK under Operation Pitting. Officials across Government worked around the clock to enable the vast majority of scholars and their families to travel to the UK on military evacuation flights. Under the third referral pathway of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), the Government will offer ACRS places to eligible at risk Chevening alumni.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Email

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many emails her Department has received through the dedicated consular address for Members of Parliament since 24 February 2022.

Amanda Milling: The FCDO has one correspondence mail box - Fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk - and the correspondence team allocate consular correspondence from this address to consular officials. Since 24 February to 30 March the FCDO has received 1003 consular related emails from Members of Parliament.

Indonesia: Development Aid

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which projects in Indonesia are being funded with Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) from the UK Government either (a) directly or (b) by the UK Prosperity Fund or (c) by CDC or (d) by multilateral organisations to which the UK contributes ODA.

Amanda Milling: The Statistics on International Development (SID) National Statistics report, published on the gov.uk website, provide an overview of all official UK spend on Official Development Assistance (ODA). ODA is an international measure and is collected and reported on a calendar year basis.In answer to the specific breakdowns requested:A. UK bilateral ODA to Indonesia in 2020 (latest year available) was £33.3mn (as reported in SID Table A4b) https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-international-development-final-uk-aid-spend-2020For more information on active Indonesia ODA programmes please see the DevTracker page on Indonesia (https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/countries/ID).B. Details of Prosperity Fund ODA programmes that benefit Indonesia can also be found in "Data underlying the SID" using the "Extending Agency field".C. As part of CDC / BII's new five year strategy which was launched at the start of 2022, they are seeking to expand their investment portfolio in South East Asia, including in Indonesia. CDC has a portfolio of three indirect investments in Indonesia made via two investment funds: Neoma South East Asia Fund II, and Sarataoga Asia II LP.The estimated amount of UK ODA funding to the core budgets of multilateral organisations, which was then spent in Indonesia, is published in SID Table A10. This presents the UK Imputed Multilateral Shares for 2015 to 2019 (latest available year). Information on multilateral programmes that benefit Indonesia can also be found on the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) multilateral activity dataset (https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?ThemeTreeId=3) .

Mozambique: Gas Fired Power Stations

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment was conducted by (a) her Department and (b) CDC Group of the potential for renewable hydropower to meet Mozambique’s energy needs in advance of CDC Group deciding to provide equity financing for a new gas fired power plant in Temane.

Amanda Milling: As sole Shareholder of BII (formerly CDC), FCDO appoints the Chair, sets BII's strategic objectives and also maintains oversight of BII. Decisions on the delivery of BII's strategy and its investments are delegated to the Board who are held accountable.BII has stopped investment in the vast majority of fossil fuel projects and will only pursue investments in gas-fired power stations if they meet the criteria for exclusions in HMG's fossil fuel policy and fulfil the requirements in BII's Guidance on Natural Gas Power Plants, published in December 2020.Temane meets the conditions for Paris-aligned gas power as per HMG's fossil fuel policy and has been assessed in detail as per BII's gas guidance which is consistent with those conditions. This included an assessment of whether the project could be viably replaced by renewable alternatives, including hydropower. Fuller details of the criteria used in such assessments is available here: https://assets.cdcgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/12145227/CDC_GasGuidance_December2020.pdf

Afghanistan: British Council

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many times her Department has been contacted by British Council staff members requesting her Department’s assistance to leave Afghanistan, since 15 August 2021.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department regarding providing refuge to British Council staff in Afghanistan.

Vicky Ford: During Op Pitting, the Government evacuated all British Council employees from Afghanistan. The Government also agreed to resettle more than 50 of the most vulnerable British Council contractors. Under the third referral pathway of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), the Government will offer ACRS places to eligible at risk British Council contractors.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Recruitment

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she has taken since 24 February 2022 to recruit additional staff to respond to the crisis in Ukraine.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she has taken since 24 February 2022 to recruit additional (a) Ukrainian and (b) Russian-speaking staff to respond to the crisis in Ukraine.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she has taken since 24 February 2022 to recruit additional staff for the British embassies in countries bordering Ukraine.

Vicky Ford: Since 24th February, FCDO staff have been surged to support our response to the crisis in Ukraine in addition to staff already working in this area. We have also drawn in staff from across government. Within our surge response, staff with Russian and Ukrainian language skills are being deployed. The staffing footprint in our embassies bordering Ukraine is kept under regular review with staff numbers adjusted according to need.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Public Expenditure

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will detail the losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for her departmental group as defined by section A4.10.7 in HM Treasury's Managing Public Money for (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

Vicky Ford: The losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for the departmental group for the years 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 as already held on the record of losses for the public sector organisations within the departmental group, in accordance with Managing Public Money (Annex A4.10.7), or as otherwise held for the purposes of special payment disclosures, are set out below. These disclosures are consistent with the organisations' obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018.Losses and special payments above £50,000 and less than £300,000 for financial years April 2018-March 2021 are as follows:YearDFIDFCOFCDO2018-19Four store losses related to commodities of £65,540, £299,037, £104,919, £197,686.Waved claim £182,000 relating to Chevening Scholarships.  Three special payments to subcontractors after supplier entered administration of £137,090, £290,000, £139,882.  2019-20Two fruitless payments relating to expired drugs, and destruction of medicine unable to be delivered of £255,632 and £57,137.   One special payment £85,142 outside contract terms.  2020-21  One waived claim £56,534 following overpayment of supplier.   Two special payments (1) for hardship payments to Chevening scholars of £72,384; and (2) an extra contractual payment in response to Covid-19 of £250,883.Financial year 2020-21 was the first year where FCO and DFID were combined into one entity. Results for 2018-19 and 2019-20 split disclosures between the 2 former departments.

Ministry of Defence

Defence Business Services: Blackpool

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there will be any enforced moves of staff by Defence Business Services when it moves site to Blackpool.

Jeremy Quin: The Ministry of Defence has been in regular detailed discussion with the Trade Unions during the Workplace Programme on the relocation terms for all affected staff. These discussions are ongoing.

Defence Business Services: Blackpool

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of relocating Defence Business Services to Blackpool is.

Jeremy Quin: The full business case (which will include expected costs) is expected to be scrutinised in May 2022. This follows the down selection of Blackpool as the preferred site of the consolidated hub after comparing the qualitative benefits and through life costs of potential sites based on several factors including operational risk, sustainability and compliance with the key user requirements.

RAF Fylingdales

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of the Ballistic Missile Defence Radar System built in 2004 at RAF Fylingdales.

Jeremy Quin: There was no cost to the UK public purse. Upgrades to US assets in the UK or overseas may be financed by the US Government.

LE TacCIS Programme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has paid to GDMS UK for the Evolve to Open programme as of 29 March 2022.

Jeremy Quin: For the Evolve to Open Transition Partner Contract with General Dynamics Mission Systems UK, against a contract value of £319.9M, £284.6M has been paid to date. All figures exclude VAT.

Ajax Vehicles

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page ten of the NAO’s report entitled The Ajax Programme, how many of the 11 limitations of use deemed critical to achieving initial operating capability on Ajax vehicles in December 2021 have been resolved as of 28 March 2022.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 10 of the NAO’s report entitled The Ajax Programme, how many of the 27 limitations of use on Ajax vehicles in December 2021 have now been resolved.

Jeremy Quin: As of 28 March 2022, five of the 27 limitations of use have been resolved, all of which are critical to achieving initial operating capability. Work continues to resolve the remaining limitations as the programme matures.

Defence Business Services: Blackpool

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether hon. Members will be able to review the business case for the relocation of Defence Business Services before the final decision is taken.

Jeremy Quin: The full business case will be commercial in confidence and scrutinised by the Ministry of Defence Investment Approvals Committee before submission for approval by Ministers.

Defence Business Services: Blackpool

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his proposed timeline is for the relocation of Defence Business Services to Blackpool.

Jeremy Quin: The timeline for the consolidation of the three DBS North West sites remains subject to finalisation of the business case, which currently assumes that the relocation to Blackpool will take place by the end of 2023.

Department for Work and Pensions

Poverty: Children

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will provide details of the Government’s strategy to tackle child poverty.

David Rutley: With almost 1.32 million vacancies across the UK, our plan for tackling poverty is firmly focussed on supporting people to move into and progress in work. Our approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment, particularly where it is full-time in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.This plan includes our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has been expanded by £500 million, and Way to Work, which is a concerted drive across the UK to help half a million currently out of work people into jobs by the end of June 2022. We have recruited around 13,500 additional work coaches who are all trained to develop a detailed knowledge of their local labour market and to offer claimants the tailored support they need to take advantage of new opportunities wherever they live in the UK.We recognise that some people require additional support and from April, the government is providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1 billion. Under the first round of funding, the London Borough of Barnet Council was allocated £2,455,182.90 of funding, and they are provisionally allocated the same amount again for the extension of the fund.

Universal Credit: Refugees

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to (a) disregard property in Ukraine from any capital calculations for Ukrainian refugees applying for universal credit and (b) provide further exemptions from any capital calculations for Ukrainian refugees applying for universal credit.

David Rutley: The emergency regulations laid on Monday 21 March 2022 ensure Ukrainian evacuees can access Universal Credit and jobs support immediately. Each claim for benefit will be assessed individually and as quickly as possible. Available capital in the form of savings and investments will be taken into account in the normal way. Legislation already provides for capital assets held overseas only to be taken into account on the basis of their market value: clearly assets such as property owned in Ukraine have no market value at the current time.

Universal Credit: Students

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will review the universal credit eligibility requirements for disabled people in education.

Chloe Smith: Most full-time students in higher education do not qualify for Universal Credit because one of the conditions of entitlement is that a claimant must not be in education. Students, including disabled students and those with health conditions, access fees and living costs support for their higher education courses through various loans and grants funded through the student support system. It is important that Universal Credit does not duplicate this support, which is designed for their needs unlike the social security system. In some circumstances, people in full-time education are able to claim Universal Credit. These exceptions to the rules generally provide financial help not covered by the student support system or avoid anomalies in cases where one member of a couple is a student. There is an exception where a person has already been determined to have limited capability for work before entering education and is entitled to Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Disabled Adult/Child Payment (Scotland) or Armed Forces Independence Payment. The rules for this exception are designed to encourage those already claiming Universal Credit because of disability or ill health to take up education that may help them into work in the future. As with all policies, we continue to keep the support we offer to disabled students claiming UC under review.

Poverty: Children

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish a strategy to tackle child poverty in Hendon constituency.

David Rutley: With almost 1.32 million vacancies across the UK, our plan for tackling poverty is firmly focussed on supporting people to move into and progress in work. Our approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment – particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children. This plan includes our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has been expanded by £500 million, and Way to Work, which is a concerted drive across the UK to help half a million currently out of work people into jobs by the end of June 2022. We have recruited around 13,500 additional work coaches who are all trained to develop a detailed knowledge of their local labour market and to offer claimants the tailored support they need to take advantage of new opportunities wherever they live in the UK.  We recognise that some people require additional support and from April, the government is providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1 billion. Under the first round of funding, the London Borough of Barnet Council was allocated £2,455,182.90 of funding, and they are provisionally allocated the same amount again for the extension of the fund.

Poverty: Children

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government has plans to reinstate the cross-departmental Child Poverty Unit.

David Rutley: A key function of the previous Child Poverty Unit was to support the delivery of the child poverty targets that we abolished in 2016, which we have no plans to reintroduce. We believe that an approach to tackling child poverty focused primarily on meeting income-based targets can drive action that focuses primarily on moving the incomes for those ‘just in poverty’ just above a ‘poverty line’ whilst doing nothing to help those on the very lowest incomes or to improve children’s future prospects. Ministers and officials engage extensively across Government to ensure a coordinated approach to tackling poverty and we will we continue to do so in the future. The latest statistics show that in 2020/21 there were 200,000 fewer children in absolute poverty before housing costs than in 2009/10.

Department for Work and Pensions: Location

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of 17 March 2022 of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Official Report, column 1032, and the statement that 12,000 people will be moving from one site to another that is in close proximity, what assessment her Department has made of the accessibility by public transport of new locations for affected staff.

Mims Davies: When considering planning moves from one location to another, the Department use postcode mapping and calculate average travel times by car and public transport.There may be colleagues that are not be able to travel to the new location, but that work will be picked up as part of the one-to-one process.Should the one-to-one process identify any colleagues unable to move with their role to another location where this is identified, redeployment to an alternative role and location within DWP or other Government Departments will be the priority.

Department for Work and Pensions: Location

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of 17 March 2022, Official Report, column 1032, and the statement that 1,300 people could be involved at sites where there is no other strategic site nearby, if she will make it her policy that no staff will face redundancy.

Mims Davies: The Departments priority will be to retain, retrain, and redeploy staff either within DWP, or within other Government Departments in the area before redundancies will be considered. We are making every effort to fully support our staff through this process, and communicating the change with our staff is our priority.

Department for Work and Pensions: Location

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of 17 March 2022 of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Official Report, column 1032, and the statement that 12,000 people will be moving from one site to another that is in close proximity, what estimate she has made of the greatest additional distance that a staff member may be required to travel to a new place of work.

Mims Davies: No one will be required to travel outside existing DWP mobility guidelines, although people may choose to do this if they so wish. This will be covered in the one-to-one process.

Department for Work and Pensions: Location

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 18 March 2022, HCWS700 and the statement relating to no plans to reduce headcount, whether affected staff will be offered an equivalent role they can reasonably be expected to accept.

Mims Davies: This is not about reducing headcount. The Department’s priority will be retain and retrain colleagues and redeploy them either within DWP, or within other Government Departments in the area. Colleagues will be invited to individual one-to-one discussions with their local leaders, where their circumstances can be considered and any concerns addressed.

Department for Work and Pensions: Location

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 18 March 2022, HCWS700 and the statement relating to no plans to reduce headcount, whether agreement has been reached with the PCS union on guaranteeing ongoing equivalent employment for staff affected.

Mims Davies: The Department continues to engage with the PCS union. The priority of the Department is to retain, retrain and redeploy staff to DWP offices and other Government Departments in the area to avoid redundancies.

Department for Work and Pensions: Location

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 18 March 2022, HCWS700 and the statement relating to no plans to reduce headcount, what her Department's policy is on redundancy for staff who may be unable to relocate.

Mims Davies: As a responsible employer, we will make provision for redundancies if it is necessary. However, this will be a very last resort after all efforts to retain, retrain and redeploy colleagues, either within DWP or other Government Departments in the area, have been exhausted. We are making every effort to fully support our staff through this process, and communicating the change with our staff is our priority.

Department for Work and Pensions: Location

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 18 March 2022, HCWS700 and the statement relating to no plans to reduce headcount, what equality impact assessment has been conducted with regard to local communities facing proposed office closures.

Mims Davies: A full Equality Assessment has been completed which considers the impact on colleagues. Separately, the planning of an office closure includes consideration of factors including the ‘Index of Multiple Deprivation’ for each location, which considers many factors, including:Income DeprivationEmployment DeprivationEducation, Skills and Training DeprivationHealth Deprivation and DisabilityCrimeBarriers to Housing and ServicesLiving Environment Deprivation

Social Security Benefits: Cancer

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether home assessments for people claiming disability benefits can be offered to claimants living with cancer.

Chloe Smith: Currently, all claimants to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can be offered a telephone or video assessment where a paper-based assessment is not possible and a face-to-face assessment at an assessment centre is not appropriate. Home assessments were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and we are working towards re-introducing these where other assessment channels are not possible. Attendance Allowance care needs are assessed on paper-based evidence alone, with extra support available for vulnerable customers. Disability Living Allowance for children does not assess children and all decisions are taken on the basis of paper-based evidence.

Employment: Disability

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress she has made in reducing the disability employment gap in (a) Newport West constituency and (b) Wales in the last 12 months.

Chloe Smith: The figures for the disability employment gap for Wales and Newport West are available in the public domain here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1054074/employment-of-disabled-people-2021-revised-feb-2022.xlsx The data for Wales is available on a yearly basis in table 12. The data for Newport West is only available in 3-year periods, due to small sample sizes, and is available in table 13b. The latest figures from the Annual Population Survey show that the disability employment gap in Wales was 32.9 percentage points in 2020/21. This is an increase of 1.1 percentage points from 2019/20 and a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from 2014/15. These changes were not statistically significant. Figures for Newport West are only available in 3-year periods using the Annual Population Survey data. The disability employment gap for Newport West was 33.3 percentage points from 2017 to 2019 and 33.0 percentage points from 2014 to 2016. These changes were not statistically significant. The Annual Population Survey shows that the disability employment gap in the UK was 27.9 percentage points in 2020/21. This is a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from 2019/20 and a decrease of 3.9 percentage points from 2014/15. The change from 2019/20 was not statistically significant, whilst the change from 2014/15 to 2020/21 was statistically significant. The government has set a goal to see one million more disabled people in employment between 2017 and 2027. Previously published figures for Q1 2021 showed that, in the first four years of the goal (between Q1 2017 and Q1 2021), the number of disabled people in employment increased by 850,000. This an increase of 14,000 since year three. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have provided specialist employment support remotely and made programmes easier to access. A range of DWP initiatives are supporting disabled people to stay in and enter work. These include the Work and Health Programme, the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advice in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services.

Universal Credit

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2021 to Question 185274, if she will provide an update on the progress of the course correction that was committed to at the Universal Credit Programme Board following concerns raised by the Chief Executive of the London Borough of Islington on behalf of the Local Government Association.

David Rutley: As part of the Department’s deposit of Universal Credit Programme Board papers to the Library on 28 October 2021 we included the paper titled ‘Alternative Access Routes for Vulnerable Customers’, which can be found at: BTL02- Alternative Access Routes for Vulnerable Claimants.

Department for Work and Pensions: Public Expenditure

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will detail the losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for her departmental group as defined by section A4.10.7 in HM Treasury's Managing Public Money for (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

Guy Opperman: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost to the Department.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Office for Environmental Protection: Finance

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding levels for the Office of Environmental Protection.

Rebecca Pow: The Secretary of State for Defra reviewed the proposal for the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) funding levels following an internal assurance process. He has subsequently set out the budget for the OEP for 2022/23 in a written ministerial statement on 31 March and is satisfied that this funding is sufficient to enable the OEP to effectively carry out its statutory functions.

Pest Control: Regulation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to streamline the regulatory framework applying to pest control.

Rebecca Pow: Local authorities have certain responsibilities for the control of some types of pest and have the flexibility to allocate resources to address local priorities, based on an assessment of risk. Local priorities will vary across geographical areas and might involve one or more type of pest such as wasps, rats, mice and bedbugs. Under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949, local authorities have a duty to deal with infestations of rats and mice. Defra has no plans to amend this legislation.

Hazardous Substances: Waste Disposal

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding the Government has provided to local authorities to help tackle high levels of toxic waste in each of the last five years.

Jo Churchill: The Environmental Protection Act 1990 places a duty on local authorities to provide waste collection and disposal services. The Act also places a duty of care on all waste holders (including local authorities) to ensure the safe disposal or recycling of waste they collect and manage. In recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities such as waste management, un-ringfenced funding from the Government is provided. The Local Government Finance Settlement has provided £54.1 billion in 2022/23 for local government in England, an increase of up to £3.7 billion on 2021/22. This comes on top of increases in Core Spending Power at £49 billion in 2020/21. Businesses, meanwhile, usually have to pay for services to collect and dispose of the waste they generate.

Air Pollution

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the devolved Administrations on levels of PM2.5.

Jo Churchill: Whilst air quality is a devolved policy area, my officials work closely with the Devolved Administrations and have developed an Air Quality Common Framework to set out how the four administrations can work effectively together to improve air quality. This includes the development of plans for how the UK will meet its emissions reduction commitments by 2030 for five key pollutants, including PM2.5.

Fly Tipping

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many incidents of fly tipping have been reported by each local authority in the latest period for which data is available.

Jo Churchill: A breakdown of the number of incidents reported by individual local authorities in England for 2020/21 is available online from this webpage link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env24-fly-tipping-incidents-and-actions-taken-in-england.

Dairy Farming: Animal Welfare

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report by Panorama on animal abuse and neglect on dairy farms; and what steps he is taking to strengthen enforcement of animal welfare legislation.

Jo Churchill: All farm animals are protected by comprehensive and robust animal health and welfare legislation: The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence either to cause any captive animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for the welfare needs of the animal; and The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 set down detailed requirements on how farmed livestock, including dairy cattle, must be kept. Potential breaches of animal health and welfare legislation are taken very seriously indeed. Defra's Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) inspectors and local authorities conduct inspections on-farm to ensure compliance with the law and with the relevant statutory farm animal welfare code. Appropriate action is taken against anyone who breaks the law when non-compliances are disclosed. This may include a follow-up, unannounced, inspection by APHA at a later date to confirm compliance. The local authority, as the appropriate enforcement agency, may initiate prosecution action for animal welfare offences where there is sufficient evidence.

Air Pollution: Pollution Control

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to give further financial support to local authorities tackling rising levels of toxic air.

Jo Churchill: Latest published figures show that air pollution has reduced significantly since 2010. Emissions of nitrogen oxides have fallen by 44% - and are at their lowest level since records began, sulphur dioxide emissions have fallen by 70% and fine particulate matter emissions are down 18%. However, the Government recognises that there is more to do to protect people and the environment from the effects of air pollution.We are providing £880 million to help local authorities develop and implement local air quality plans and to support those impacted by these plans. This government is also taking action across transport by supporting the switch to electric vehicles with £2.8 billion of investment, and £2 billion in funding for cycling and walking over this Parliament.We have also recently awarded £11.6 million from Defra's annual Air Quality Grant Scheme to local authorities in England for projects in local communities to tackle air pollution and reduce emissions affecting schools, businesses, and communities. The scheme will open for applications again later this year.We also plan to provide local authorities with funding for measures introduced through our landmark Environment Act 2021 to improve the enforcement and management of smoke emissions in smoke control areas in England.

Home Office

Windrush Compensation Scheme

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the total number of persons who are entitled to claim compensation under the Windrush Compensation Scheme as (a) primary claimants, (b) close family members and (c) estate claimants.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office’s planning assumptions for the Windrush Compensation Scheme are based on 4000-6000 eligible claims. These assumptions are not broken down into the sub-categories requested. However, as at the end of February 2022, 3,618 claims had been received, broken down as follows: Primary claim 2,756Close Family Member claim 577Deceased Estate claim 285 We believe the current planning assumptions more accurately reflect the number of eligible claims we are likely to receive, a range has been adopted to reflect the inherent uncertainty. The Home Office monitors the latest data and insights to inform this analysis. The Home Office is committed to ensuring all affected members of the Windrush generation make a claim and receive the maximum compensation to which they are entitled. To ensure no one is prevented from making a claim if they are eligible, simply because a deadline has passed, or because we have received more claims than we had planned for, we have removed the formal end date of the scheme. There is no cap on the amount of compensation we will pay out or the number of claims we will accept.

Refugees: Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she would consider providing additional funding to Migration Yorkshire and other authority-leg regional migration partnerships to help support local authorities and the community and voluntary support sector to settle refugees in the UK.

Kevin Foster: Home Office funding for the 2022/23 Strategic Migration Partnership (SMP) Grant Agreements has been confirmed and shared with SMP regional leads. This includes a 4.2% uplift across Asylum Dispersal, Resettlement, Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) and English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) compared to the previous year.The Home Office has already committed to a full review of the SMP Grant Agreement deliverables and funding during 2022/23.

Refugees: Ukraine

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral Statement of 1 March 2022, Official Report, column 915, whether the Government plans to provide financial support for partner organisations which sponsor people fleeing Ukraine through the humanitarian sponsorship pathway.

Kevin Foster: This Government has made its support for Ukrainians fleeing in fear of their lives clear. The Homes for Ukraine scheme was announced by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities on 14 March.To enable the scheme to commence swiftly, Homes for Ukraine is initially limited to sponsorship between named individuals. Sponsors will receive an optional £350 monthly payment from the government as a thank you for their generosity. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is working with NGOs, charities or other third-party organisations to stand up processes to facilitate matching of beneficiaries and sponsors where able / willing.Organisations can register their interest at:https://homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk/

Visas: Ukraine

Amy Callaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Ukrainians on a seasonal work visa as of 28 March 2022 will have the same access to Government support schemes intended for Ukrainian refugees.

Kevin Foster: Ukrainians who are in the UK under the Seasonal Worker route are able to have their visa extended until 31 December 2022. Ukrainian seasonal workers who are an immediate or extended family member of a person in the UK who is a British citizen, settled in the UK, or who has certain types of limited leave may be eligible under the Ukraine Family Scheme if they were resident in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022. Full details of which can be found here: Apply for a Ukraine Family Scheme visa - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Ukrainian nationals who had permission to stay in the UK on 18 March 2022 (or those whose visa has recently expired) will be able to stay in the UK under the Ukraine Extension Scheme. Eligibility for permission to stay will include those who were in the UK before 18 March as seasonal workers. The Seasonal Worker route remains open to all nationalities wishing to take up work in the horticulture sector.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will enable local authorities and families to host Afghan refugees in the same way as Ukrainian refugees, to support progression out of bridging hotels.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy that where a UK family wanting to host a refugee can find a match of an Afghan refugee currently in a bridging hotel, that family can host in equivalent terms to the Homes for Ukraine scheme, should DBS checks prove the home is safe.

Kevin Foster: The ‘Homes for Ukraine’ sponsorship scheme has been developed to meet the immediate needs of those fleeing from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.We are providing funding to local authorities to support those who have come from Afghanistan. Where members of the public also wish to help Afghans or other refugees, we would encourage them to do so through working with their local authority, or through the Community Sponsorship scheme.I refer the Hon Member to the following link: https://www.gov.uk/help-afghanistan/helping-people-to-settle-in-the-uk(opens in a new tab)

Home Office: Public Expenditure

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will detail the losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for her departmental group as defined by section A4.10.7 in HM Treasury's Managing Public Money for (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

Tom Pursglove: To provide details for each payment made under £300,000, such as nature and amount paid, cause of each loss and action taken, would require a manual search of all relevant payment records. Given the number of transactions that would have to be reviewed since April 2018, they could only be obtained only at disproportionate cost.Please refer to the links below for published information that relates to losses and special payments in the previous three financial years:Pages 127-129 of the 2020-21 Home Office Annual Report and AccountsHO annual report and accounts 2020-21 (publishing.service.gov.uk) Pages 117-119 of the 2019-20 Home Office Annual Report and AccountsHome Office annual report and accounts 2019 - 2020 (publishing.service.gov.uk) Pages 104-105 of the 2018-19 Home Office Annual Report and AccountsHome Office Annual Report and Accounts 2018-19 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Domestic Abuse: Victim Support Schemes

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of funding available to specialist services that support victims of domestic abuse.

Kit Malthouse: Tackling domestic abuse and ensuring victims receive the support they need is a priority for this Government. Our landmark Domestic Abuse Act will strengthen our protection to victims and ensure perpetrators feel the full force of the law. It includes the first legal definition of domestic abuse, improved support for victims in the courts, new offences and strengthened legislation around cruel acts of controlling or coercive behaviour.The Act also places a duty on local authorities in England to provide support to victims of domestic abuse and their children in refuges and other safe accommodation, backed by £125 million of Government funding to ensure that these vital services are available to anyone who needs them, wherever they live. This will be supported by a new £6 million Domestic Abuse Capacity Building Fund to help Local Authorities prepare for the upcoming duty.Last week we published the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan which will seek to transform the whole of society’s response in order to prevent offending, support victims and pursue perpetrators, as well as to strengthen the systems processes in place needed to deliver these goals.The Plan invests over £230 million into tackling domestic abuse. This includes over £140 million to support victims, including over £47 million in ringfenced funding for victims’ services and £81m for 700 extra independent domestic violence and sexual violence advocate roles.As committed in the cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy published on 21 July last year, the Home Office has also provided an additional £1.5 million funding this year for ‘by and for’ service provision and to further increase funding for valuable specialist services for victims of violence against women and girls.The Home Office is also planning to double funding for survivors of sexual violence and the National Domestic Abuse Helpline by 2024-25, and further increase funding for all the national helplines it supports.The VAWG National Statement of Expectations, and Commissioning Toolkit, which we have published alongside the Plan, will also provide support to commissioners to help them increase provision of ‘by and for’ and specialist services.The Plan sets out several key indicators we will use to determine its effectiveness, and we will monitor changes in the prevalence of domestic abuse through the Crime Survey for England and Wales. The implementation of both the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan and the VAWG Strategy will be integrated and overseen by the Home Secretary, through the VAWG Inter-Ministerial Group. This group will monitor delivery of the commitments made in both documents and changes in their key metrics to determine the impact of the measures being implemented.

Refugees: Russia and Ukraine

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a fast track refugee process for people fleeing Ukraine and Russia in the context of the recent invasion.

Kevin Foster: As set out in the Home Secretary’s statement to the House on 1 March, a fee free, bespoke Ukraine Family Scheme has been introduced. The route allows both the immediate family members (spouse, civil partner, durable partner, minor children) and extended family members (parent, grandparent, adult children, grandchildren, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, in laws and their immediate family) to join their relatives in the UK. The UK-based sponsoring relative must be a British citizen, a person who is present and settled in the UK (including those with settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme), a person in the UK with refugee leave or with humanitarian protection or an EEA or Swiss national in the UK with limited leave under Appendix EU (pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme). This route was launched on 4 March. The ‘Homes for Ukraine’ Scheme announced by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 14 March. The Scheme will allow individuals, charities, community groups and businesses in the UK to bring Ukrainians to safety. This includes those with no family ties to the UK. There will be no limit on the number of arrivals, and those who come to the UK on the scheme will have permission to live and work here for up to three years. They will also have access to healthcare, benefits, employment support and education. The Home Office is prioritising all applications made by Ukrainian nationals under these Schemes, and there are no plans for establishing a separate fast-track scheme for those looking to leave Russia.

Refugees: Ukraine

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugees from Ukraine she is planning to take into the UK.

Kevin Foster: The Government has set no limit on the number of Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion who can come to the UK.

Refugees: Ukraine

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has put measures in place to receive potential refugees fleeing conflict in Ukraine.

Kevin Foster: The Government has taken significant steps to support Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.First, we have introduced a fee-free, bespoke Ukraine Family Scheme. The route allows both the immediate family members (spouse, civil partner, durable partner, minor children) and extended family members (parent, grandparent, adult children, grandchildren, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, in laws and their immediate family) to join their relatives in the UK. The UK-based sponsoring relative must be a British citizen, a person who is present and settled in the UK (including those with settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme), a person in the UK with refugee leave or with humanitarian protection or an EEA or Swiss national in the UK with limited leave under Appendix EU (pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme). This route was launched on 4 March.We have also launched the Homes for Ukraine scheme on 18 March. The scheme is fee-free and allows Ukrainians with no family ties to the UK to be sponsored to come to the UK. Ukrainians arriving in the UK under this scheme will be granted leave to remain for three years, and can work, and access benefits and public services, giving them certainty and securing their future in the country.This bespoke sponsor route will help Ukrainians who have sadly been forced to flee their homes. It will allow sponsors, such as communities, private sponsors or local authorities, to bring people to the UK. They will be able to work and the sponsor would provide housing and integration support.We are working closely with devolved governments and local authorities to ensure individuals and organisations who want to sponsor an individual or family can volunteer to do so, who will then be matched with Ukrainians in need.We will keep our support under constant review.

Domestic Abuse: Older People

Tom Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to (a) capture data on and (b) provide support for older victims of domestic abuse.

Kit Malthouse: Domestic abuse has no place in our society and this Government is committed to improving our support to those who suffer at the hands of abusers. Our landmark Domestic Abuse Act will strengthen our protection of victims and ensure perpetrators feel the full force of the law. The Government recognises that older people can also be victims of domestic abuse and the new statutory definition of domestic abuse encompasses such victims. Data on domestic abuse-related offences recorded by the police by age of victim can be found in the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publication ‘Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2021 in Tables 4 and 10 here: Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) The age range for respondents eligible for the domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking self-completion module of the Crime Survey England and Wales (CSEW) was expanded in April 2017, changing from adults aged 16 to 59 years to adults aged 16 to 74 years. For future data collections as part of CSEW, the ONS will be removing the upper age limit when estimating the number of adults affected by domestic abuse. This will allow us to better monitor the prevalence of domestic abuse amongst older people and further integrate older people’s experiences into conversations and policy decisions around domestic abuse. Last week, we published the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan which will seek to transform the whole of society’s response in order to prevent offending, support victims and pursue perpetrators, as well as to strengthen the systems processes in place needed to deliver these goals. The Plan is informed by the unprecedented 180,000 responses we received to our Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Call for Evidence, and relevant data,literature, and input from experts.The Plan, investing over £230 million into tackling these crimes, sets out a holistic package of support to ensure that every victim or survivor can get the support they need. We will also monitor their needs and reflect changes in our policy. This individualised approach will help to take the onus off victims and survivors by ensuring support is tailored to them, no matter how complex their needs.The Plan sets out several key indicators we will use to determine its effectiveness, and we will monitor changes in the prevalence of domestic abuse through the Crime Survey for England and Wales. This year (2021-22) the Home Office is providing the organisation Hourglass with just over £200,000 to support elderly victims of domestic abuse. This funding will also provide casework support, train specialist independent domestic violence advocates and enhance their helpline. This means that Hourglass now operates the UK’s only 24/7 helpline to support older victims of domestic abuse.The Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Care are jointly leading the Safe Care at Home Review. The Terms of Reference for the review were published on 24th February 2022. The review is looking at the protections and the support available to adults at risk of or experiencing abuse in their own homes from people providing their care, including older victims who are more likely to have care and support needs. As part of the review, we are coordinating inputs from disabled people, carers organisation and other interested parties. The Review is expected to complete before the end of 2022.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Public Expenditure

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will detail the losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for his departmental group as defined by section A4.10.7 in HM Treasury's Managing Public Money for (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

Kemi Badenoch: The losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for the main department for the years 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 as already held on the record of losses for the public sector organisations within the departmental group, in accordance with Managing Public Money (Annex A4.10.7), or as otherwise held for the purposes of special payment disclosures, are set out below. These disclosures are consistent with the organisations’ obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018.(a) 2018-19 Total individual losses recorded for core department under £300,000 were 33 with a combined value of £1,191,342.49. These relates to write offs on the ERDF and Regional Growth Fund Programmes and losses of IT equipment. Total individual special payments recorded for core department under £300,000 were 66 with a combined value of £1,987,285.56. These relates to annual payments for historic personal injury claims.(b) 2019-20 Total individual losses recorded for core department under £300,000 were 43 with a combined value of £555,063.05. These relates to write offs on the ERDF, Great Britain High Streets and Regional Growth Fund Programmes and losses of IT equipment. Total individual special payments recorded for core department under £300,000 were 60 with a combined value of £1,934,852.67. These relate to annual payments for historic personal injury claims and payments to local authorities related to NNDR guidance on the business rates retention scheme.(c) 2020-21 Total individual losses recorded for core department under £300,000 were 10 with a combined value of £294,350.00. These relates to write offs on the ERDF Programmes and losses of IT equipment. Total individual special payments recorded for core department under £300,000 were 44 with a combined value of £981,366.53. These relates to annual payments for historic personal injury claims.Due to the number of payments made, the full breakdown is in the attached excel file. Losses and Special Payments registers for Arm’s Length Bodies are not held centrally, and are excluded from the numbers above. The data for the wider department will be provided in follow up to this initial response.Full breakdown  (xlsx, 61.1KB)

Coal: Cumbria

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when his Department expects the planning inspector to announce his decision following the public inquiry into West Cumbria coal mine planning application; and if he will make a statement.

Stuart Andrew: The date for the Secretary of State’s decision on this case will be set when the independent planning inspector’s report and recommendation is submitted to the Department, and will be 13 weeks after the date of that submission. The Inspector’s report has not yet been received.

Public Lavatories: Disability

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to support local authorities to ensure there is an adequate provision of publicly available disabled toilets.

Neil O'Brien: The Changing Places Fund forms part of the National Disability Strategy launched in 2021. The Strategy made a public commitment to make £30 million capital funding available over 3 years to unitary and district councils in England with the objective to increase both the number and geographic spread of Changing Places Toilets (CPTs) and to provide them in venues of greatest need. Changing Places Toilets unlike standard accessible toilets, have an adult changing bench and hoist facilities as well as extra space for carers.The CPF prospectus was published in July 2021 inviting unitary and district authorities to submit an expression of interest.Following the outcome of the Round 1 assessment process the government has announced that 191 unitary and district councils across England have been allocated £23.5 million of funding to increase the number and spread of Changing Places Toilet facilities across England.A further round of the Changing Places Fund is anticipated later in 2022.

Building Safety Fund

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of making Build to Rent providers exempt from the building safety and orphan fund levies.

Eddie Hughes: A decision on what will be exempt from the levy will be made in due course. We will use secondary legislation to identify exemptions, for example social housing, care homes, and hospitals may be considered.

Members: Correspondence

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of 4 October 2021, 15 November 2021, 20 December 2021, 27 January 2022 and 2 March 2022 from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay regarding a constituent, case reference JB34441.

Eddie Hughes: A response was issued on to my Hon Friend's letter on 9 February 2022.

Rented Housing: Asbestos

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure that landlords effectively deal with asbestos within their properties.

Eddie Hughes: Landlords must ensure that the properties that they rent out are safe and tenants have a right to a decent place to live. To raise awareness of this important issue, the government publishes advice at https://www.gov.uk/asbestos-in-home and the Health and Safety Executive has specific advice and guidance at https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/managing/domestic.htm.Rented homes must be free of the most serious ‘category 1’ hazards, which include but are not limited to issues such as asbestos, assessed using the housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS). Local authorities must take action if they identify category 1 hazards and we have given them enforcement strong powers including fines of up to £30,000.

Domestic Abuse: Refuges

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of refuge services available to people fleeing domestic violence.

Eddie Hughes: Many local areas already provide services that ensure those fleeing from devastating abuse have somewhere safe to go, but this has not been uniform across the country and the right support has not always been available for all victims.That is why we introduced a new statutory duty on local authorities within the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to ensure that all victims, including children, have access to safety and support within safe accommodation when they need it.This has been backed by £125 million funding for 2021/22 and a further £125 million funding will be allocated to local authorities for the delivery of their duties in 2022/23.Local authorities are required to report back to Government on a yearly basis on how they have delivered their duties and I am chairing, alongside the Domestic Abuse commissioner, a National Expert Steering Group to oversee delivery and ensure it meets the needs of all victims.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will issue guidance to local authorities to use their discretionary powers to exempt Disabled Facilities Grant applicants from means testing for housing adaptations costing less than £5,000.

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will issue guidance to local authorities to use their discretionary powers to fast-track Disabled Facilities Grant applications for people living with motor neurone disease and other terminal conditions.

Eddie Hughes: New Government guidance on the effective delivery of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) for local authorities in England was published on 28 March 2022 on Gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disabled-facilities-grant-dfg-delivery-guidance-for-local-authorities-in-england.The guidance includes information on discretionary powers available to local authorities under a published Housing Assistance Policy, which can include fast-tracking the DFG process for eligible people living with motor neurone disease and other terminal conditions, as well as means test exemptions for adaptations costing less than £5000 if agreed locally. Any decision to include these priorities in a Housing Assistance Policy is a local one determined by local authorities.

Energy Performance Certificates: Fraud

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many times his Department has been informed of any suspected fraudulent or dishonest practice on the part of a member or members as part of the Energy Assessor Accreditation Scheme in the last 24 months.

Eddie Hughes: Energy Assessor Accreditation Schemes are required to have complaints systems in place to deal with complaints about individual energy assessments. The Department has no plans to require Accreditation Schemes to submit data to the department relating to complaints about their members.

Energy Performance Certificates

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on the number of domestic energy assessors that have (a) been suspended and (b) had their membership revoked in the last 24 months.

Eddie Hughes: Energy Assessor Accreditation Schemes provide monthly reports to the Department. These reports include information on the number of assessors currently suspended by the Accreditation Scheme. The Department has no plans to publish reporting data provided by Accreditation Schemes.

Refugees: Ukraine

David Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what further measures his Department plans to introduce to ensure that Ukrainian children arriving in the UK receive adequate housing, education, and psychosocial support.

Neil O'Brien: I refer my Hon Friend to the answers given to Question UIN 145857 on 28 March 2022 and Question UIN 144955 on 29 March 2022, which include links to published guidance and information at Gov.uk.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme: Warwickshire

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many households in (a) Warwickshire and (b) Warwick and Leamington constituency have been paired with a Ukrainian national as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Neil O'Brien: I refer the Hon Member to the data published at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukraine-family-scheme-application-data. Further data will be published in due course.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the potential average timeframe for receiving (a) a decision of eligibility for the Homes for Ukraine scheme following submission of an application for sponsorship of named individuals and (b) immigration clearance to enter the UK for named individuals who are accepted for sponsorship.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Ukraine Family scheme, how accommodation will be found for refugees in the event that their sponsor's home is not large enough to accommodate them; and whether hosts under that scheme will receive £350 per month.

Neil O'Brien: I refer the Hon Member to the answers given to Question UIN 145857 on 28 March 2022 and Question UIN 144955 on 29 March 2022, which include links to published guidance, including Guidance for Local Authorities, and information at Gov.uk. The Ukraine Family Scheme is run by the Home Office. The Home Office have published information on visas received and issued online.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme: Telephone Services

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure information on the Homes for Ukraine helpline is available in (a) Ukrainian and (b) Russian.

Neil O'Brien: I refer the Hon Member to the Homes for Ukraine factsheet that has been published online. The factsheet, which has been translated into Ukrainian and Russian, explains how Ukrainians can apply to the sponsorship scheme before arriving in the UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-for-ukraine-factsheet-for-ukrainians.The Home Office has established a 24/7 bespoke helpline to support people to come to the UK through the different routes available. Further guidance on visa applications and details of the helpline are published here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-visa-under-the-ukraine-sponsorship-scheme.

Parking

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure that enforcement by private parking firms is proportionate and appropriate.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to regulate private car parking firms.

Neil O'Brien: On 7 February the Government published its Private Parking Code of Practice, a key milestone in the implementation of the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019. It sets out the requirements that private parking companies must follow when enforcing parking restrictions in England, Scotland and Wales.The Code is part of a wider regulatory framework which includes the establishment of a Scrutiny and Oversight Board to monitor the new system, a certification scheme to which operators must adhere if they wish to access keeper data to enforce parking charges and the creation of a single independent appeals service for motorists to turn to if they are unhappy with the handling of an appeal by an operator.The new Code and regulatory framework will ensure that terms and conditions and enforcement and appeal processes are fair, consistent, and proportionate, boosting our high streets and town centres by making it easier for people to park without receiving unwarranted charges.

Regional Planning and Development: Age

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the levelling up agenda policy contains different strands to focus upon different age groups.

Neil O'Brien: Levelling Up is about a fundamental systems change to allow local places to overcome their own challenges, including those faced by people of different ages. As such, the Levelling Up White Paper includes specific policy initiatives to spread opportunities for people in all stages of their life. This includes creating 55 Education Investment Areas in England; supporting families by investing £300 million to build the network of Family Hubs and transform Start for Life services for parents, babies, carers and children; and setting up the Older People’s Taskforce to make sure that older people can live in homes which suit their needs.

Department for International Trade

Overseas Trade: USA

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions she has had with her US counterpart on reducing market barriers at state level in the US for the purpose of increasing trade with that country.

Penny Mordaunt: I have met with Governors and stakeholders from states across the US, including during a visit between 5 and 15 December 2021 and a virtual US visit at the beginning of February. Through these engagements I have been met with great interest in doing more with the UK. We are exploring mechanisms for deepening our trade and cooperation with states including through Memoranda of Understanding. We are also engaging with professional bodies and regulators across the US to explore where we can reduce barriers, including through recognition of professional qualifications. This will help deliver value to business and supporting our areas of shared interest, such as through levelling up and strengthening our existing ties.

Exports: Ukraine

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to help UK exports reach Ukraine.

Mike Freer: The Department for International Trade (DIT) has expanded the Export Support Service to act as a single point of enquiry for businesses and traders with questions relating to the trading environment in Ukraine. Any business that has question about trading with Ukraine can submit an online enquiry or call our helpline. DIT will continue to support business and traders during this period. Having a dedicated export support team ready to help at the end of the phone will ensure business can access the information they need at any time.

Digital Technology: Exports

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department has taken to increase exports of digital services.

Mike Freer: The UK is a services and digital superpower, the world’s second largest services exporter, and the fifth biggest exporter of digital tech services. The Department for International Trade (DIT) announced a refreshed cross-government Export Strategy: Made in UK, Sold to the World last autumn, which is business-focused and centred around a 12-Point Plan. By improving the capability and skills of exporters and internationalising key trading sectors like digital services in fast growing markets, this strategy will change the UK’s exporting culture and our ability to ‘sell to the world.’

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress her Department has made on securing UK membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Penny Mordaunt: On 18 February 2022 the UK reached a major milestone in our accession process. Japan, on behalf of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) members, announced that the UK can move onto the final phase of the accession process, market access negotiations. This means the UK has demonstrated to members of the partnership that it is a high-standards, fair trading economy.

UK Export Finance

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of UK Export Finance in supporting UK businesses.

Mike Freer: UK Export Finance’s (UKEF’s) mission is to ensure that no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance, while operating at no net cost to the taxpayer. During financial year 2020/21, UKEF provided support of £12.3 billion to UK exporters selling to 77 countries around the world, supporting 549 companies directly (of whom 79% were small and medium sized enterprises), and thousands more indirectly in supply chains. UKEF has provided £29 billion of support to UK exporters in the last five financial years. The corresponding figures for 2021/22 will be published in due course in the next Annual Report and Accounts.

Manufacturing Industries: Exports

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support UK manufacturing exports.

Mike Freer: Last Autumn, the Department for International Trade (DIT) published the refreshed Export Strategy with an action-led 12-point plan to help exporters, including those in the manufacturing sector, to thrive in the global market and raise the UK’s exporting culture in the long-term. This includes initiatives such as the Export Support Service (ESS), the UK Export Academy, UK Export Finance, International Trade Advisers, and global networks. We are reaching out to businesses across all UK regions and nations to amplify exports opportunities for our manufacturers.

Trade Barriers

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department has taken to reduce barriers to global trade for British businesses.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: We have secured trade deals with 70 countries around the world, plus the EU, covering trade worth £772 billion in 2020. In addition, we resolved over 200 trade barriers across 74 countries during the 2020/21 financial year - an increase of 20% on the previous year, securing access for wheat to be exported to Mexico, a market which imports approximately £900 million of wheat a year, and opening the Chilean market for British pork exports, estimated to be worth £20 million in the first five years of trade.

Trade Agreements: New Zealand

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential merits for Northern Ireland of the New Zealand trade deal.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department’s impact assessment of the UK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement was published on 28th February 2022 and includes impacts on the UK’s nations and regions, including Northern Ireland. The impact assessment can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-new-zealand-fta-impact-assessment

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Listed Buildings: Empty Property

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of withdrawing listed status from buildings that have been left derelict for long periods, in order to facilitate regeneration or development.

Nigel Huddleston: The Secretary of State has a duty under Section1 of the Planning Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas Act 1990 to list buildings of special architectural and historic interest. Buildings that have been left derelict for long periods of time may still meet the statutory criteria for listing. Delisting just in circumstances where a building has been left to disrepair would not be appropriate.Local Authorities have powers to take action where a designated heritage asset has deteriorated to the extent that its preservation may be at risk. This includes undertaking urgent works and recovering those costs, as well as compulsory acquisition, including provisions for minimum compensation where an owner has deliberately allowed a building to fall into disrepair in order to justify its demolition and secure permission for redevelopment of the site. Listed buildings represent some of our most significant heritage assets and should not be neglected by owners.

Digital Technology and Video Recordings: Hearing Impairment

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure equitable access to (a) digital resources and (b) videos for the deaf community in the UK.

Julia Lopez: We want to build a world-leading digital economy in which no one is left behind by the digital revolution. That means ensuring that as many people as possible can reap the benefits of being online and the technologies that can transform our lives, benefit society and drive prosperity and growth.However, we are aware that for disabled people, poor design of apps or websites - which does not take disabled users into account - remains a significant issue. This is why, in early 2022, DCMS collected evidence about the nature and scale of the inaccessibility of private sector websites. We are now exploring how the government can effectively intervene and will report back in spring 2022.This work will complement the government’s 2018 publication of the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations. Led and monitored by the Government Digital Services (GDS), these regulations require UK public sector websites and apps to be made accessible, unless it would be disproportionate to do so.In relation to video-on-demand (VoD) content, the Digital Economy Act 2017 amended the Communications Act 2003 to give the Secretary of State the power to impose statutory requirements on on-demand services regulated in the UK in relation to access services - including subtitling and signing. Following recommendations from Ofcom in December 2018 and July 2021, officials are considering their proposals and will set out next steps for implementation in due course.

Women and Equalities

Members: Correspondence

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to reply to correspondence from the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead of 4th October 2021 case number MP71787 on the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on disabled people.

Kemi Badenoch: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer to PQ 141152 on 21 March 2022.